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Originally posted by stickman428:
Is MotoGP pulling the plug on moto-e? What is going on with their bike sponsor?

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​​​​​​​This past Saturday Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), while preparing for the Brembo Algarve Grand Prix with one of his standard off-road training sessions, suffered a fall that caused a slight head concussion.

After a few days of rest at home and seeing that he was still unwell, today Marquez has been assessed by doctors in a medical check-up to evaluate his current status. As a precautionary measure, this coming weekend Marquez will not contest the Algarve Grand Prix in Portimao.

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Originally posted by P250UA5:
Marquez to miss Algarve GP

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​​​​​​​This past Saturday Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), while preparing for the Brembo Algarve Grand Prix with one of his standard off-road training sessions, suffered a fall that caused a slight head concussion.

After a few days of rest at home and seeing that he was still unwell, today Marquez has been assessed by doctors in a medical check-up to evaluate his current status. As a precautionary measure, this coming weekend Marquez will not contest the Algarve Grand Prix in Portimao.

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Honda MotoGP test rider Stefan Bradl will once again return to MotoGP action this weekend at the Algarve Grand Prix, stepping into the Repsol Honda team to repeat his now regular role as the replacement for the injured Marc Marquez.

It was announced yesterday that the Spaniard will sit out this weekend’s race at Portimao after sustaining a concussion last Saturday while training on an off-road machine, but no substitute was confirmed when the team first released a brief statement on the eight-time world champion’s injuries.

However, it’s now been made official that Bradl, who has tested extensively of late for the Japanese manufacturer, will park his microphone from his normal weekend role as a TV pundit for German broadcaster Servus and will instead replace Marquez.

“First of all I hope Marc is recovering well and he can be back on track soon,” the 31-year-old said in a team press release.

“I am looking forward to riding again as Portimao is an enjoyable circuit where we had a good result towards the end of 2020. It’s never easy to jump on the bike, but we have had a lot of good bike time this year between the races and testing.”

Bradl’s return to the team is a familiar one considering it marks his fifth appearance of the season for Honda after first deputising for Marquez at the opening two races of the year in Qatar (pictured below) before going on to make two wildcard appearances in his role as test rider.

It also means that he will have lined up for 17 of the last 27 races after spending most of the 2020 season deputising for Marquez as he recovered from a badly broken arm suffered at the opening round of the season, with the Spaniard only actually riding in 14 of those 27 rounds.

Bradl enjoyed his best result of the season last year at Portimao, finally released from what was essentially a racing test rider role in the final round of the year as a thank-you for his work both replacing Marquez and developing the 2021 RC213V.

Using previous track knowledge from his time in the World Superbike championship at a track that was then new to MotoGP, he ended the weekend in seventh.

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Originally posted by stickman428:
The new shoulder cam they put on Alex Rins suit for FP1 was so fricking cool! I love the footage it captured.

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Originally posted by stickman428:
That KTM on KTM crash with 2 laps to go looked bad from the one replay I saw. As the riders went over the crest of a hill they go out of sight but before they disappeared from the screen they looked tangled up.

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Originally posted by P250UA5:

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Originally posted by P250UA5:
Marquez to miss Algarve GP

Bradl in for Marquez at Portimao

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Eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez will miss both the upcoming Motul Valencia Grand Prix and post-season Jerez Test after being ruled unfit to participate. The Repsol Honda rider has been suffering from vision problems since an off-road training accident in the build up to the Algarve Grand Prix, which he also missed. After resting at home since a medical examination last Tuesday, the number 93 has continued to feel unwell and suffered from vision issues, known as diplopia.

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Originally posted by stickman428:
These guys are a rare breed. I had a scary moment on my R1 a while back. My close call was what these guys would call a normal day in the office. I was out in the country on a road I ride very often and know well. I was out on a “spirited” ride when I came upon a minivan.

I got on the throttle too hard while passing the minivan and must have pulled a small power wheelie or something because I felt the front end come up more than I expected while merging back into my lane and must not have put the wheel down straight or something because the next thing I knew the bars were yanking back and forth VERY quickly at well north of 100mph and I was edging closer and closer to going off the road.

It happened so quickly I don’t think I even had time to fully process what was happening. I got the bike back under control just as I was about to go off the right side of the road.

That little incident kept me off my bike for a long time and completely changed my riding style. I had on basically no gear when it happened other than a helmet. Yeah, I know stupid. I started riding my mountain bike after that close call and had a hell of a spill on my mountain bike a few weeks later which resulted in some road rash.

The pain I felt the next day after a 15-20mph crash and slide on asphalt completely sobered me up. I began to contemplate what a crash would feel like on a motorcycle and began to shudder.

I don’t know how those guys manage to get back on their MotoGP bikes after a bad spill and still push it to the limit. They are fearless.